Creating a lasting legacy will be at the heart of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils.
As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II marks 70 years on the throne, there will be a focus on the environment and community wellbeing in the official Platinum Jubilee events across the districts.
The Queen’s Green Canopy
The councils are asking residents to share with them pictures of the trees they have planted across the districts as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy. These images will go on display until spring next year on the councils’ websites and will create a record of where the trees are for years to come.
Following the launch of their new Tree Policy, this year the councils supported community tree planting projects on public land in Abingdon and Wallingford. To help reduce carbon emissions they are encouraging people across the district to get involved in planting trees in their local area and applying to plant trees on council land – to find out more visit southoxon.gov.uk/trees / whitehorsedc.gov.uk/trees.
Living Sculptures
Later in the year South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse will each install living sculptures. The final designs are yet to be decided but the statues will be created using grasses, vines, plants, or trees. Both districts will have a sculpture as a reminder of this special anniversary.
It is hoped that the sculptures will become a part of the natural landscape. They will reflect the councils’ committed work to tackle the climate emergency, and they will be placed in areas that the public can access.
In South Oxfordshire the location of the sculpture is to be confirmed, however, in the Vale of White Horse the living sculpture will be at the District Community Centre on Great Western Park in Didcot Garden Town.
There will be opportunities for residents to get involved with deciding what shape the final sculptures will be and what they will be made with. Once confirmed they will be created later in the year.